Eric Lampaert

Having been the only remotely watchable thing on ITV2’s hideous OMG! With Peaches Geldof, Eric Lampaert makes his Fringe solo debut with an hour that showcases his many talents but ultimately fails to ignite.

The proud owner of a face designed for standup—all huge eyes and huger smile—he’s very much from the Ross Noble school of comedy. With only a limited amount of written material, the rest of the set is filled with extended improvised flights of fancy. But, while Noble has an impressively consistent hit rate, Lampaert more often than not runs down a comedy cul-de-sac. Only his elfish personality and exuberant nature allow him to back away from regular dead ends with a modicum of dignity.

His material, such as it is, sees him explain a nomadic childhood in which he had lived in seven different countries by the age of 12. This background means he is multilingual – a talent he uses throughout, even impressively indulging in Afrikaans banter with some South African visitors. Less pleasing is a hack routine on the failings of school French (où est la plume de ma tante, anybody?).

There’s also some amusing chat about his jockey father, his acting career and a tough adolescence. It’s basically a 10-minute club set padded out to an hour-long show.

He's certainly got the ability, but Lampaert simply needs more jokes and greater self control when it comes to the fanciful mental excursions that threaten to trip him up at every turn.